9 October 2016: German President Joachim Gauck visits the exhibition “Revolution and the Fall of the Wall”

To mark the anniversary of the protest demonstration in Leipzig on 9 October 1989, Germany’s Federal President Gauck visited the open-air exhibition. During his tour, he also recalled the events of October 1989 in Berlin, Rostock and Plauen. Gauck: “The Peaceful Revolution is one of the most significant dates in the history of freedom in German.”

Major media interest: the ARD camera team refuse to let the rain spoil their mood.

Source: Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft/Ilona Schäkel

The young generation excited to see the president. Joachim Gauck talking to visitors.

Source: Robert-Havemann-Gesellschaft/Rolf Walter

At the end of his tour, the president called for a “culture of intervention”: “Without citizens intervening in society, democracy is diluted. An exhibition like this therefore speaks from another time to the very midst of our present day.“

Impressions

The open-air exhibition “Revolution and the Fall of the Wall” in the courtyard of the Stasi headquarters opens on 15 June. Its starting point was the highly successful temporary exhibition on the Peaceful Revolution on Berlin’s Alexanderplatz in 2009-10.

The open-air exhibition “Revolution and the Fall of the Wall” in the courtyard of the Stasi headquarters